Amnesty International report condemns 'alarming' increase in worldwide death sentences

Amnesty International has released its annual review of the world's use of the death penalty, and it paints a grim picture.

In 2014, there was an "alarming" rise in global death sentences, BBC News reports. Increased death sentences in China and Nigeria are largely responsible. Amnesty notes that Nigeria recorded 659 death sentences in 2014, an increase of more than 500 death sentences from 2013.

On a slightly better note, though, the number of executions actually decreased in countries other than China. Amnesty reported that 607 executions, not including those in China, occurred in 2014, which is almost a 22 percent decrease from 2013.

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According to the report, the most executions occurred in Iran, with 289 official executions. Amnesty noted that more than 450 additional executions were "not acknowledged by the authorities." After Iran, the highest rates of executions were seen in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and the U.S.